Bring Your Own Beverage (BYOB)

I usually sort the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad in two categories: little ones and big ones. The big ones, though heavier, are real no brainers: family, friends, income, etc. On the other hand, it´s the little ones that make for the most interesting conversation (or blogging). One of the biggest little disadvantages of living in a small city in Spain is the lack of choices to dine out. I´m not only referring to the kinds of food available, but also to the total absence of these four magic letters: BYOB.

BYOB (BYO in AUS and NZ) stands for "bring your own beverage" (the last B can also mean beer, bottle, or even booze). It is a system followed by many restaurants all over the English-speaking world which consists on, well, letting you bring your own alcoholic beverage to the restaurant. BYOB establishments pay for a license that is significantly cheaper than the one "fully-licensed" restaurants have to pay for, making the system a win-win situation. The restaurant saves money by not paying for a full license and the costumer saves money by buying wine or beer at retail prices (and exactly the kind they want!).

It´s true that Spain offers cheaper and more diverse wine than any other country in the world, along with one of the highest degrees of quality out there (another little-big advantage of living here!).  It´s  also true that this gives BYOB a lesser advantage when compared to, for example, the US. But wouldn´t it be great to be able to bring a good bottle of St Emillion to a meat restaurant? Or a Chardonnay to accompany Japanese cuisine? What about some good Trappist beer at your favorite burger joint? All at retail price!

It´s all advantages to me, except for the occasional corkage fee and the (somewhat likely) possibility of a quick run to the nearest grocery store halfway through the main course! 

The War of the Words

     Have you ever wondered why we use the noun MOON but its corresponding adjective is LUNAR? Or why while we call the animals COW, SHEEP, or PIG once they´re food we call them BEEF, MUTTON, or PORK? The reason is the tremendous impact French had on the English language during the Middle Ages, mostly due to a single battle: The Battle of Hastings. In fact it is estimated that more than 10,000 English words are borrowed from French. But let´s slow down for a minute to try and grasp the historical context:

     It all started in the year 1066 with the Norman Conquest of England. William Duke of Normandy considered that he had a claim to the throne of England and decided to invade, overthrow King Harold, and take over the Crown. The armies of William and Harold met at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. After intensive fighting that lasted all day Harold was killed by an arrow and William became king, starting what came to be known as the Norman Dynasty. William established a new nobility that was entirely from Normandy, spoke French, and wrote in Latin. After the Norman Conquest English was not spoken by a king for over three centuries! At least not for official business (the first king to address his court in English was Henry V, in 1399).

     French thus became the language of the aristocrats and English of the common people. To this day English words that come from Latin or French tend to be deemed of a higher order of sorts. If we think about it, peasants and common people in the Middle Ages were much more likely to be uneducated and simply name things (using nouns) than to describe them in detail (using adjectives), which accounts for the fact that certain nouns in English are of Anglo-Saxon origin (SUN, MOON), but their corresponding adjectives come from Latin (SOLAR, LUNAR). Also, they were more likely to deal with the livestock (COW, SHEEP, PIG) than with the meat that results from it (BEEF, MUTTON, PORK). In addition most words that had to do with the arts, politics, law, government, and religion in English are of Latin/French origin (such as SOVEREIGN, PARLIAMENT, JUDGE, EVIDENCE, JUSTICE).

     Now you know a little more about the origin of certain words in English (if you want to know more on the subject the video on the right is a good starting point). The problem is French is only one of the main three influences (the other two being Latin and Germanic), but English has been influenced by as many as 20 other languages through its History. This explains why, and most English learners will agree with me on this one, English spelling is so difficult to understand!

Beyond the Gun-Control Debate

Once again we open the newspapers and find ourselves shocked by the random killings of innocent victims. This time, however, it seems to shock us a bit more. Possibly because of the number of victims or the fact that it happened in a school... Again. But most likely because of the 26 dead 20 were 6 or 7 years old. 8 boys and 12 girls according to official reports.

Again a shooting. Another in a long tragic and painful chain of school shootings in the USA. Once again the gun control debate reopens throughout the country as both sides get their argumentative ammunition ready. We´ll hear again about people´s right to bear arms, and about statistics. Some will remind us that this has happened in other places (Google: Oslo Massacre 2011) and that it has happened as well where people have had no access to guns (Google: China Knife Attacks 2010). Statistics will be fired in every direction: percentage of gun crimes carried out with legally obtained weapons, number of these weapons that end up in the wrong hands, gun crimes in the USA vs countries where access to firearms is limited, number of criminals who claim they would not have killed if they had known for a fact that there were other armed people among their potential victims, and so on. More than anything, people will adopt a position somewhere around the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. 

The Second Amendment is the part of the Constitution´s Bill of Rights that defends the people´s right to "keep and bear arms." The Bill of Rights is the term applied to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in order to guarantee basic rights (such as freedom of speech and a fair trial) to all Americans, as well as to limit the powers of Government. Viewed from a 21st century point of view, especially from outside the US, the fact that having firearms is considered a basic right seems crazy to say the least. We should consider things within their context though, and the 2nd Amendment´s context was very different from anything we deem normal nowadays. The 13 Colonies had just earned their independence, war had just ended, and newly declared American people understood that if they wanted to protect their lives, property, families, and freedom they had to do it themselves. After decades of being abused by the British Crown, it was only understandable that they wanted the right to protect themselves and rebel against an unfair rule guaranteed in writing. In present day people debate whether the guarantees established by the second amendment are still necessary.

As I have said before, every time there is intense debate over anything we must stop and wonder what the other side is seeing that we are not. Thus I am willing to accept some of the reasons told by people who use the self-defense argument as logical. For example that those who legally buy weapons are NOT the ones that commit gun crimes, or that states that are more permissive with guns are NOT the ones with the highest gun crime rates.  However it is not easy for me to understand that people defend the right to have assault weapons. I personally don´t understand, but I don´t judge either, those who want to have hunting guns. I certainly don´t share the idea of having a revolver for self-protection at home, but I can sometimes understand it. But I most definitely can´t accept that we allow anyone to have guns that were specifically designed to kill people. Accurately. Multiple people at a time. Who can seriously claim that people who buy this kind of weapon have self-defense in mind? Self-defense against what? An army of mercenaries? 

As President Obama said, "the complex causes of gun crime can´t be an excuse for inaction" and something has to be done. Some US politicians have already promised they will propose a nation-wide ban on assault weapons (which I applaud, but is not enough), and everyone throughout the country is urging people to reflect on what needs to be changed to prevent another massacre like the one in Newton, Conn. It is hard to say. I certainly have no answer. It breaks my heart to think of the families who sent their little ones to school just another Friday morning and never saw them return. I can´t begin to imagine the pain they must be going through as I type these words. The thought that there is something deeply wrong with a country that produces the kind of monster who would perpetrate such an act is only slightly alleviated by the idea that the overwhelming majority of us are NOT like that. Most of us wish to change something. Most of us send our condolences and prayers to the families of the victims. But nothing we do or say will bring them back.

Breakfast Who is Who

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, the idea of what a good breakfast is can greatly differ depending on where you live. In the USA, as in most of the Americas and Northern Europe, people tend to eat hearty, strong and complete breakfasts. These are usually high-protein and include items such as eggs, bacon, potatoes, veggies, and pancakes. For people here in Mediterranean Europe American breakfast items usually seem too heavy. They find it difficult to believe a person can actually feel like eating that much, especially that early in the morning! Mediterraneans usually have significantly smaller breakfasts that consist of coffee and milk and a slice of toast with butter and jam for those who like it sweet, and oil and tomato for those who don´t.

In general breakfast habits are only a matter of taste, except when it comes to the fact of actually having some breakfast. Researchers seem to agree that the worst possible breakfast is no breakfast at all, especially for children and teenagers. Many studies suggest a strong correlation between academic achievement and having breakfast, which is why many states in the US began their breakfast-at-school programs.

So, if we consider breakfast necessary, how can we choose wisely what to have? According to several medical studies, the most important nutrients to include in a complete breakfast are fiber, protein, and vitamins, especially vitamin C (more so in the wintertime when our immune system needs a little boost). Given this information, the best breakfast may be a combination of American and Mediterranean ingredients. American breakfast items are high in animal protein, but also in saturated fats, whereas Mediterranean breakfast is high in fiber but often lacks protein and vitamin C. The ideal breakfast should definitely include some dairy products, fruit, and bread. The way you mix and match these is entirely up to you and your schedules, but remember... NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST AGAIN!

Homeschooling

     There is a lot in the news lately about whether children can be home-schooled or not in Spain. Apparently it´s not clear here if homeschooling is constitutional. Most of the debate centers around the ambiguity of the Spanish Constitution on the issue of free and mandatory education. People who want to home-school their children claim that the document establishes the right and obligation of all children to receive an education, but never stating WHERE. In other words, that as long as they are educated they do not need to attend school.

     In the United States about 2.9 percent of children are home-schooled. Depending on the state, the laws that regulate homeschooling range from virtually no regulation at all (not even notification of homeschooling) to very strict controls by the state of the curriculum taught, the parent/home teacher qualifications, official evaluation, and home visits. The picture on the right shows the degree of regulation and its distribution by state, according to the Home-School Legal Defense Association.

     The reasons parents decide not to send their children to school are very diverse, with morals and disagreement with the school system behind most of them. These are the top ten reasons given by American parents to home-school their children according to the National Center for Education Statistics:

Reason for homeschooling	Number of homeschooled students	Percent	s.e.
Can give child better education at home	415,000	48.9	3.79
Religious reason	327,000	38.4	4.44
Poor learning environment at school	218,000	25.6	3.44
Family reasons	143,000	16.8	2.79
To develop character/morality	128,000	15.1	3.39
Object to what school teaches	103,000	12.1	2.11
School does not challenge child	98,000	11.6	2.39
Other problems with available schools	76,000	9.0	2.40
Child has special needs/disability	69,000	8.2	1.89
Transportation/convenience	23,000	2.7	1.48

     According to several studies home-schooled students on an average outperform their schooled peers in all subjects. However those who oppose homeschooling claim that it severely hampers the social and civic development of children. Controversial issues would not be so if there weren´t good reasons to both sides and this is no exception. If we dig a little we can find tons of evidence both in favor and against homeschooling. The important thing is to keep an open mind and make informed decisions weighing advantages and disadvantages and reading as much information as there is around, especially when we are dealing with such an important issue. Now that Spain is staring to consider homeschooling as an option, Spanish people should take advantage of the vast experience the US has with it and use the information available there to form a more complete opinion.

When Friday Goes Black

     After giving it some thought, I decided not to join the hundreds of other bloggers in writing about Thanksgiving this week. A big part of the reason is (besides the fact that I think we´ve heard a little too much about turkeys, stuffing, and Pilgrims this week) that I´m sure most of my readers have heard a lot about Thanksgiving and very little, if anything, about the day after: Black Friday. I also consider the timing right since this year I saw for the first time a few references to this unofficial holiday here in Spain (see picture on the right).

     In a nutshell Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and the official kickoff of the Christmas shopping season. The term was first used in the early 1950 by business managers referring to the economic losses caused by the number of people who called in sick that day. Later in the 60´s it was used again by the Philadelphia police department to describe the hordes of shoppers who invaded (and collapsed) the downtown area causing all sorts of accidents and incidents. Then, sometime during the 1980´s, retailers aggressively campaigned to get rid of the negative connotation surrounding the term "BLACK Friday" by highlighting that the color could very well refer to all the "red ink" that magically turned black on merchants´balance sheets on this day.

     Nowadays Black Friday has grown in every way. It has grown popular to surpass the Saturday before Christmas as the most active shopping day of the year. It has also grown in length with big retailers such as Target and Best Buy opening earlier and earlier. In fact "Black Friday" became "Black Thursday" this year for the first time, with WalMart opening at 10 PM on Thanksgiving night. Finally Black Friday also continues getting bigger by its numbers, with 20.7 % more money spent this year over 2011.

     No matter what time stores open, or how long they stay open, shoppers throughout the US line up for hours to avoid missing out on the best bargains of the year. Most Americans peacefully shop (though a lot!) and go home. However, every year the frenzy Black Friday creates results in a few stories of violence and injuries on the morning news the Saturday after (just take a look at this example). Because of this, retailers increasingly try to implement measures to reduce crowds and keep crazy shoppers in line. In the early 2000´s for example, many stores issued coupons for exactly the number of some of their most popular items that people had to get beforehand. Another strategy merchants recently resorted to was offering the same or slightly better deals to those who shopped online on the Monday after, which has come to be known as "Cyber-Monday," which makes Black Friday a total of five days long. Who knows, at this rate we may soon end up with a whole "Black Month"!

   

Why the British Drive on the Left

     Have you ever wondered why the British have not joined the rest of the world in driving on the right? Well, I´m not here to give you an answer to that, but I do have some interesting facts related to the popular question. For starters, I can tell you that joining "the rest of the world" is not quite accurate, since there is at least one country in each continent that still follows the "keep-left rule," as you can see in the picture (on the left, of course!). Secondly, if we look back in history, it is keeping left what has been used the longest and what made more sense before cars existed (and possibly even after).
     That´s right! The earliest evidence of road use comes from ancient Rome, and it suggests they kept left. Later, in medieval times, keeping left allowed the right-handed majority to comfortably mount their horses and get going (think about it... To mount a horse you first put your left foot on the stirrup and then mount, and if you do it from the sidewalk you´d be on the left of the road once on the saddle). Besides, meeting people on the road would always be more convenient if they were on your right hand side, whether you wanted to shake their hands or cross swords with them.
     It wasn´t until the late 1700´s that the rules began to change, mostly due to the use of large wagons driven by teams of horses in the United States. These wagons did not come with a driver seat, which meant the person who drove them had to mount the last horse on the left of the team. Keeping left meant severely reduced visibility for these wagon drivers, since other wagons and riders would be coming on the right hand side. Finally, in 1792, Pennsylvania passed a law declaring all wagon drivers and traffic in general were to keep right.
     The new "keep-right rule" quickly spread all over the Americas, but is unclear when and why it was established in Europe. What we do know is that is was first established in France during the Napoleonic period, and that it was Napoleon the one who spread it all over Europe as he expanded his empire. Years later, well into the 20th century, Germany became crucial to the spread of the keep-right rule both by forcing the new system in all invaded countries and by becoming the main car manufacturer in the world.
     Britain, and consequently all the countries the British conquered, never adopted the keep-right rule. This may have been because large wagons were never an option for England´s narrow urban streets and rural roads. Whatever the reason, according to research done in 1969, keeping left significantly reduces the risk of head-on collision, which means sticking to the old rule may be saving lots of lives.
     Now we know it´s not that the British (and all the countries influenced by them) stubbornly refuse to join the rest of the world, it is the rest of us who have changed the original rule!